Nazi movies: “Third Reich” propaganda films were often disguised as comedies, dramas, and musicals promoting the German ethos and “way of life.” Curiously – or rather, eerily – these Nazi…
Arthur Askey: For decades, the British comedian was a vaudeville, radio, and television celebrity in his home country. Never an international name, Askey was also featured in a handful of…
Playwright Arthur Miller vs. Red Scare Hysteria: The Crucible Demythologizes American Exceptionalism
Playwright Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible (1953) – about the witchcraft trials held in late-17th-century Salem – as a political allegory against the HUAC hearings held in mid-20th-century Washington, D.C.…
Bibi Andersson in The Seventh Seal. Remembering international arthouse cinema icon Bibi Andersson: Frequent Ingmar Bergman actress & four-time ‘Swedish Oscar’ winner International arthouse cinema icon Bibi Andersson, a blonde…
Cannes Film Festival winners: The Square with Claes Bang. “Gobsmackingly weird” Cannes Film Festival favorite may have a tough time landing a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award nomination. As…
Danielle Darrieux in ‘La Ronde.’ Film icon Danielle Darrieux turns 100: Longest ‘star career’ in movie history? Screen legend Danielle Darrieux is turning 100 today, May 1. In all likelihood,…
Yvonne Monlaur: Cult horror movie actress & Bond Girl contender was featured in the 1960 British classics Circus of Horrors & The Brides of Dracula. Actress Yvonne Monlaur dead at…
Women’s suffrage movie Mothers of Men: Dorothy Davenport becomes a judge and later State Governor in socially conscious thriller about U.S. women’s voting rights. Are females too emotional to be…
Die Nibelungen: Siegfried: Paul Richter as the tragic dragon-slaying hero of medieval Germanic mythology – with a bit from Homer’s Iliad thrown in. ‘Die Nibelungen’: Enthralling silent classic despite complex…
Alan Rickman: Professor Snape in ‘Harry Potter’ movies. Alan Rickman dead at 69: Professor Snape in Harry Potter movies + Die Hard actor took home Bafta, Golden Globe Alan Rickman,…
Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, and Ingrid Bergman: The ‘Notorious’ British (Hitchcock, Grant) and Swedish (Bergman) talent. British actors and directors in Hollywood; Hollywood actors and directors in Britain: Anthony Slide’s…
Michel Galabru and Louis de Funès in the comedy ‘Le gendarme et les gendarmettes’: No ‘affection’ for his movies. ‘La Cage aux Folles’ actor Michel Galabru dead at 93: Embodiment…
Sight and Sound: Directed by Marcel L’Herbier, L’Inhumaine features Jaque Catelain and Georgette Leblanc in a great-looking (Fernand Léger sets) mix of science-fiction and sex melodrama. Marcel L’Herbier silent ‘L’Inhumaine’: Sight and sound…
Danièle Delorme: Pioneering woman director Jacqueline Audry’s muse would eventually become a pioneering female movie producer. Remembering pioneering woman director’s muse and pioneering woman producer Danièle Delorme Danièle Delorme, who…
Michael Caine young: Long and prestigious career – as long as one chooses to ignore dozens of titles like The Island, Jaws: The Revenge, and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Michael…